Ono you didn't. Oh yes I did tuono.

[Croak]

Been hankering after a Gen 1 Tuono for, well, years, but something always got in the way.  But with me not taking my three-week tour this year, combined with the rock-bottom pricing in this market, there was enough in the piggy bank for a reasonably priced example.  And I found one.  

I'm the proud new owner of a 2003 Tuono, with 29k miles.  Not worried about the mileage on that Rotax, especially since the first owner (up to 28k) was a service technician.

Going to tweak it a wee bit to suit me, but it's got the big farkles already, as long as I can avoid the carbon fiber disease this shouldn't be a money pit.  Maybe.  We'll see how the suspension suits, that's the only optional thing I can really foresee spending more than a few hundred bucks on

Love the color, even like the 2003 frame and swingarm color, but don't dig the "what the hell was Aprilia thinking?" blue OZ wheels. Wish those were still the stock five spokes, but that's a solvable problem, and I can live with the blue if I have to.

Now comes the waiting.  The bike is in LA county, I'm in Vancouver, BC.  Can't ship it until the check clears, so I'm looking at mid-April before my ass is in the saddle.  That's like two whole WEEKS!  I guess I'll just have to pull a plug wire on my Sprint and pretend, in the meantime.  

[FiremanBob]

Congrats. Why ship? A fly'n'ride would be much more fun.

[Rincewind]

Sweet ride, congrats and enjoy.  

[BobW]

Right color and +1 on the Gen 1  

Safe travels and Cheers!

[Croak]

Congrats. Why ship? A fly'n'ride would be much more fun.

Yes, it would, but scheduling and logistics rules this out, not to mention many of the "fun" roads I'd usually take coming from SoCal would be closed or in piss-poor condition this time of year.  And I'll be damned if I'd slab it back a thousand miles on I5, may as well have bought a Honda if I was going to do that.  

[Medic09]

Congrats on the new ride!  Sorry you can't ride it back.  I've gone Vancouver to LA a few times, and there are some great stretches along the way.  Was never sorry.

[MisterSmooth]

Yeah, baby.  


My favorite Tuono quote is from Gabe Ets-Hokin.  "The Tuono is a wonderful blend of crazy and crafty…It's like dating a porn queen, except when you take her home she puts her hair up in a bun, dons her glasses and does your tax returns for you."


Make sure you join AF1's Aprilia forum.  That's the best source of information on these bikes, especially the first Gen.


OK, the blue wheels are a tough go with the bronze and gray.  But those are OZ wheels from a Mille R, and functionally the lighter OZ wheels are waaaay better.  I put OZ's on my second generation Tuono mainly for the golden bling.    Sure, people posted up how great lighter wheels are, blah blah blah.  But even a hack like me can tell the difference.  


Here's my T with the OZ's.  Maybe you can trade someone your blue ones for gold?

[Croak]

Make sure you join AF1's Aprilia forum.  That's the best source of information on these bikes, especially the first Gen.


OK, the blue wheels are a tough go with the bronze and gray.  But those are OZ wheels from a Mille R, and functionally the lighter OZ wheels are waaaay better.  I put OZ's on my second generation Tuono mainly for the golden bling.     Sure, people posted up how great lighter wheels are, blah blah blah.  But even a hack like me can tell the difference.  


Here's my T with the OZ's.  Maybe you can trade someone your blue ones for gold?

Bought the bike from an AF1 "for-sale" post, so yeah, I'm a member.  


As for the wheels, I've got the even more rare non-radial OZ forged, so trading is going to be tough.  You can use the non radial wheels on radial brake bikes with a spacer, but AFAIK, they don't make a reducer.     

I'll probably end up sending them off to be powder coated black, or if I'm feeling frisky a good color match to either the Magnet Gray, or the "Bronze Titanium" that's used on the frame.

In the meantime, if people don't like my wheels, well....

[Croak]

Oh, and to make it even more sad about the wheels, the guy I bought it from is the 2nd owner, the first owner had installed a beautiful set of Marchesini magnesiums on it, and the 2nd owner swapped those (even swap) for the blue OZ wheels because "the Marchesini wheels were boring looking".

Here's the for-sale picture of my bike a year and a half ago, with the Marchesinis:

[DNA]

Congrats on the bike.  I think the blue rime look great on the white bikes - not sure about your colrs.

Those gold one's look SO F$$KING SEXY - I really want one of these.

I think the Street tripple woudl e nice - but this is my real desire.

[Croak]

Street Triple is too gutless for a man of my substance.    Hard as it tries and light as it is, that 675 just doesn't have the torque to keep me happy.

[Castaway]

Congrats on the Tuono - one of my favorites.

Instead of powder coating I'd go with anodizing ... if it's possible to anodize something that's already been anodized, if you know what I mean.

Too bad about the wheel exchange.

[MisterSmooth]

Oh, and to make it even more sad about the wheels, the guy I bought it from is the 2nd owner, the first owner had installed a beautiful set of Marchesini magnesiums on it, and the 2nd owner swapped those (even swap) for the blue OZ wheels because "the Marchesini wheels were boring looking".

Here's the for-sale picture of my bike a year and a half ago, with the Marchesinis:

Dude, you're killin' me here.     "Boring looking"??   Like Heidi Klum bores me, she's so...so...generic.  

Powder coating the blue wheels might be the way to go.  Seriously, the OZ wheels are a big improvement over stock.  

Congratulations again.  You will not regret this purchase.    When's the delivery date?

[Croak]

Biggest problem with powder coating is the hassle.  Easiest method is to drop the bike off at a shop, have them pull the wheels, peel the rubber, prep them, and send them off someplace locally for coating, but that's days and days of not riding it!  I'll probably just develop selective color blindness until later in the year, then deal with it.  Probably about the time I need new rubber. 

Pickup is tomorrow AM, which is good.  But ETA for delivery to Blaine, WA is the 26th, via Federal Motorcycle Transport.   That's a slow trip from Los Angeles for sure. 

Actually, the waiting is downright dangerous, at least to my bank account.  I've already ordered a FAMSA tank bag setup (with another base to use on my Sprint), a Sargent seat and rear seat cover, 2nd Gen mirrors, new black bar ends and front sliders to replace the red, axle sliders all the way around, clear front lenses, a new rear seat, quick release seat and tank pins, a replacement grille for the right coil cover, and oil filters.  And I'm looking at some carbon fiber bits, which is a slippery, slippery slope.

Finally, most of my riding gear is actually Triumph-branded (good stuff and locally available rather than brand-worship), so fashion dictates that I'll have to acquire an Aprilia-appropriate or brand-neutral wardrobe for when on the Tuono.

But hey, I'm doing my part to stimulate the economy, right?  The exchange rate also makes it easier to justify.

[MisterSmooth]

...Actually, the waiting is downright dangerous, at least to my bank account.  I've already ordered a FAMSA tank bag setup (with another base to use on my Sprint), a Sargent seat and rear seat cover, 2nd Gen mirrors, new black bar ends and front sliders to replace the red, axle sliders all the way around, clear front lenses, a new rear seat, quick release seat and tank pins, a replacement grille for the right coil cover, and oil filters.  And I'm looking at some carbon fiber bits, which is a slippery, slippery slope.

Finally, most of my riding gear is actually Triumph-branded (good stuff and locally available rather than brand-worship), so fashion dictates that I'll have to acquire an Aprilia-appropriate or brand-neutral wardrobe for when on the Tuono...

Holy cow, that is an excellent post.     Ordering all that stuff is just about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on.  

But yeah, go easy in the carbon fiber department...you could spend as much money as you spent on the bike!  

[Croak]

Since that post, I've added:

Gold anodized aluminum radiator and oil cover grilles, an Eastern Beaver fuse block, a trick L-bracket to mount a Powerlet socket in front of the exhaust hanger/footpeg bracket, an extra cradle and cables for both my Zumo 550 and TPX radar detector (plus another visual alert LED).  And I didn't totally avoid the carbon fiber;  heel guards and front fender extender and a carbon fiber cover for the instrument panel.  Oh, and I scored a Hyperco rear spring that's suitable for my mass dirt cheap.

But I'm done for now, I promise.  

I have to be done, because to go any further violates my prime rules of motorcycle purchases...my bank account must never fall below X, and I must immediately pay off my credit card debt incurred in purchases.  

Oh, and they picked the bike up today.  

[fxrbill]

Keep the Oz wheels.How about trying a gold rim stripe to accent the lower tank color?Only a couple of dollars invested and no down time.

[Croak]

That's not a bad idea.

[cb400]

I just picked up an 03, and I like blue....though there are no blue wheels on mine.

If you want to fix that, let me know what we can work out.

Won't have it in my possession for a few weeks, though.
--jeff

[Dan K]

I owned a wonderful '03 magnet grey T for a couple years, even had it next to my SPrint for a short while.  I miss that bike, but I'm limited to 2 in the garage and it didn't fit my needs - commuter tourer with wind protection, particularly from the rain I tend to get caught it on the way home (Sprint) and trackable street bike - my Daytona 675.  

I probably could have just tracked the Tuono, but as a novice, the power combined with my balls and lack of skill would likely have been a bad combination...

Enjoy - great bikes.  Not sure what's up with the blue wheels from the newer generation, but it must be dealt with to preserve the beauty of that Tuono.

- Dan